By WMBD TV

PEORIA — For starving her son to death, for beating him and then blaming others for it, the mother of Navin Jones will likely spend the rest of her life in prison after a judge handed down a 100-year prison term.

Stephanie Jones, 37, said nothing when Peoria County Circuit Judge John Vespa imposed the lengthy time behind bars. She stared straight ahead as she had during most of the two-hour hearing.

Stephanie Jones, mother of Navin Jones, enters the courtroom for her sentencing hearing Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the Peoria …

But Jones broke down when pictures of Navin were shown on the courtroom’s large TV screen. She sobbed and cried when she spoke to Vespa.

“For as long as I could remember, it’s always been a struggle, to fight and crawl my way through the mental battleground in my head,” she said with tears. “I never realized that I was slowly losing my battle until t was too late.”

She also addressed her older son, saying what happened wasn’t his fault and that he should not blame himself for Navin’s death. He wasn’t in control, she said, and it wasn’t his fault.

Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Cruz called Jones’ actions were among the “most brutal and heinous behavior that can be inflicted upon a child by a parent.” She pushed for a sentence near the top of the sentencing range which was 100 years.

Her attorney Jonanthan McEldowney of the public defender’s office, countered that his client suffered from several mental illnesses including a dissociative disorder which would cause her to separate from reality for several hours. It wasn’t an excuse, he said, but rather, it was more of an explanation.

“She didn’t know how to deal with things so she checked out and didn’t deal with it,” he said, who also noted she pleaded guilty knowing that she’d likely get a stiff sentence.

But Vespa had none of it. He made it clear that he didn’t think that her issues were enough to overcome what she did and more importantly, what she didn’t do.

“The work that was involved here, all the time and effort that was involved to do this to your little boy,” he said. “I think there are actions that one can take that are so heinous that they are incapable of rehabilitation.”

He paused and then said, “she’s a bald-faced liar, very disingenuous, especially today.”

And like he said during Walker’s sentencing, he wanted to give Jones a different sentence but that was banned under state law.

The older brother’s letter

Perhaps the most emotional aspect of the hearing was hearing attorney Ann Bartolo, the attorney appointed by the court to represent Navin’s older brother, read his victim’s impact statement.

Under state law, victims are allowed to read a letter or to have someone read that letter to a judge to show how the crime affected them.

In that letter, the boy said Navin was the best brother he ever had and that he still loves him. The older sibling said “I have no clue of why they did what they did to him and then I had to see it all it happen.”

“I wish I could have done something but I was scared,” the boy ended.

The hearing

The sentencing hearing was highly anticipated within the courthouse with many talking about it throughout the week, which, ironically, was National Crime Victims’ Right week. Yet, very few people showed up. In, there were more reporters and camera operators in the room than spectators.Brandon Walker Trial Blog Day 5: Guilty of murder in a brutal and heinous manner

One person who was present was Gary Morris, Walker’s attorney. He had battled with Vespa in th hopes of having Jones take the stand at Walker’s trial. Morris pinned the death on Jones and not his client, whom he said, was a workaholic and was gone all the time.

Jones, 37, pleaded guilty a week before her boyfriend Brandon Walker went to trial and was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with Navin’s death. She too pleaded guilty to murder. In return, prosecutors agreed to take the prospect of a life sentence off the table but got a key concession.

Jones waived any appeal rights. That means whatever sentence Circuit Judge John Vespa imposes is what she will serve. She can’t ask for her guilty plea to be withdrawn nor can she ask an appellate court to reduce her prison term.

Just two months ago, Walker, 42, was sentenced to life in prison without any chance of getting out. Jones faces at least 20 years behind bars and possibly up to 100 years. That’s because of Navin’s young age and the nature of the crime.

And she must serve 100% of the sentence, which is inherent to all first-degree murder cases.

Jones was required to testify if prosecutors wanted her to but they didn’t. And her attorney indicated she’d exercise her right against self-incrimination if called by Morris. That sparked several hours of heated debate between Morris and the judge.

Jones wore an orange jumpsuit of a Peoria County Jail inmate and sat quietly. She dabbed her eyes a few times when tears came but said little.

What happened

Navin weighed 30 pounds when he was found unresponsive in his North Gale Avenue home on March 29, 2022. The room he was in was tied shut. There was urine and feces throughout the room. He had one bed, one dresser, and one toy in the room. There were marks showing alleged abuse, prosecutors have said, on his face, body, arms, and legs.

When Cruz showed pictures of Navin’s naked body during his autopsy, Jones gasped and started to cry. Her sobs and sniffs were picked up on the room’s microphones and could be heard as Leight was describing the various injuries and the marks that covered the little boy’s body.

Jones stopped looking up and laid her head in her hands as Cruz continued her questioning of Leigh which showed the condition of the family home. 

One picture that seemed to sum up the tragic nature of things. Navin’s older brother’s room had video games, fresh bedding and sheets. The carpet was clean. Navin’s bed was soiled and dirty. There were no sheets on the mattress and the door was held shut by a rope. There was only one toy in the little boy’s room. His room reeked of urine and feces. 

The little boy’s bedroom door had a note, saying “Don’t give Navin any food or drink. Do not let him out of the room. He has what he needs until I wake up.” And while his room was deplorable, the rest of the house, prosecutors have said, was “well-furnished.”

Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos, when she charged both Walker and Jones in the spring of 2022, said the boy was beaten all over his body and he showed signs of ongoing physical abuse. 

Text messages between Jones and Walker, seized by police off their cell phones show that in October 2021, stated they discussed putting the boy in the basement as punishment for urinating on the wall.

Under questioning by Cruz, Leigh said it was Jones who wrote the messages stating that Navin was acting out and should be put into the basement. The detective also said that Jones indicated to him that she didn’t have a very close bond with Navin despite being his mother.

Both Jones and Walker maintained to police after Navin’s death that while they knew he was unhealthy and likely needed medical care, that they did not take him because they didn’t have guardianship.

Both said police officers that because Brandon’s mother, Laura Walker was the official guardian that their hands were tired, that they couldn’t bring him to a doctor or even enroll him in school.

Jones’ attorney put it another way: “This was her coping with the situation by not coping with it.”

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